The Sweet Lou gelding Girldad made a bold uncovered move around the final turn, then sustained his momentum to the wire to record a 1:52 victory in the $21,918 pacing feature for up-and-coming horses on Tuesday (June 11) afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
Three horses were sent off at 9-5 odds in the feature, and they sat 1-2-3 most of the way – High Voltage Deo set the pace, with Alabamajamma in the pocket and Girldad third – through fractions of :28.1, :56.1, and 1:24.2. Tyler Buter moved Girlddad to the outside nearing the far turn and quickly paced up to the pacesetter, taking a slight advantage off the turn with Ontop Rainman on his back and Alabamajamma having no place to go.
Girldad dashed away in early stretch before Alabamajamma could gain any clearance and momentum, winning by a length in the 1:52 mile while pacing his own last quarter in :27.1. Alabamajamma found good late strides and finished second, photoing out Ontop Rainman, but neither could get to the Ron Burke-trained Girldad, who equaled his mark for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, J&T Silva Stables, and Knox Services Inc.
There were a trio of $20,548 co-features for horses one classladder rung below the feature field. Two of them were paces: the faster clocking was the 1:51 time posted by the Betting Line sophomore gelding Courtship, who equaled his lifetime best for driver Matt Kakaley, trainer Travis Alexander, and owners Morrison Racing Stables, Alexander Racing Stable LLC, and Jeff Bell. In his section, the Bettors Delight colt Bet On Mac earned a new mark of 1:52 for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Sam DePinto, and the ownership of Shannon DePinto, Judith Taylor, and Chris Arvanitis.
The trotting co-feature saw the Trixton gelding Scotty Deo make up a tremendous amount of ground in the last 50 yards to nose out Suits Me in a 1:57.1 mile for driver/trainer Charlie Norris and ownersCarrie Norris and LJB Racing LLC.
Tyler Buter and Matt Kakaley each won three races on the Tuesday program.
After thirteen races for babies and other qualifiers on Wednesday (June 12) morning at Pocono, the next action at the mountain oval will be on Saturday (June 15) at 1 p.m.; a pair of $17,000 USD trots will headline, and the two-year-olds will see their first pari-mutuel action, with pacing colts the first out of the box.
(PHHA / Pocono)